State of Wyoming Increases Stake in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• State of Wyoming boosted its Spotify stake by 90.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,669 additional shares and bringing its total to 5,625 shares worth about $3.27 million.
• Other institutions also increased holdings, and hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 84.09% of Spotify’s stock, showing strong institutional interest.
• Spotify reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.04 beating estimates and revenue of $5.25 billion slightly topping expectations; analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $655.92.

State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 90.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,625 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,669 shares during the quarter. Spotify Technology comprises approximately 0.4% of State of Wyoming's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. State of Wyoming's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $3,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,959,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 34,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,039,000 after buying an additional 8,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 785,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $455,935,000 after buying an additional 100,728 shares in the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In related news, Director Christopher P. Marshall sold 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.86, for a total transaction of $1,377,629.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,099,714.54. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $2,606,616.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at $33,560,425.39. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,647,508 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPOT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spotify Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $735.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Spotify Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $655.92.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of SPOT opened at $488.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.56. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $785.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $480.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $516.21.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 14.72 earnings per share for the current year.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.